REJOINDER - Deliberate and calculated attempt to stifle and strangulate Capital Oil And Gas

Our attention has been drawn to a press release by the Public Affairs Department of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as well as some online publications alleging their inability to access over 100 million litres of petrol stored in our depot.

While we confirm that NNPC has a subsisting contract with our company which is on throughput basis, we wish to state here that the corporation has consistently been in breach and default of our contractual agreement by owing us money for services rendered. Payments from NNPC for services rendered by our company has consistently been delayed for periods spanning over one year.

Currently, NNPC owes us for coastal vessel services rendered to the Corporation at a very critical period to salvage national crisis since 2015 (more than two years now) amounting to millions of Dollars as well as throughput services which has remained unpaid since March 2016 (exactly one year now).

Additionally, the corporation has failed to deliver products to us which were duly paid for through the PFI system. We have severally urged them through writing to effect these payments to us as well as deliver our products after which both organisations can reconcile accounts to know who owes what. Rather than carry out this exercise, we are shocked that the Corporation has resorted to this needless campaign of calumny. We respect the fact that NNPC is our biggest partner in the downstream sector and we have always stood by the corporation especially in times of national emergencies (product scarcity). It is on record that few months ago when same NNPC had a serious break in its supply chain and in a bid to avert an imminent national scarcity, Capital Oil & Gas Industries Limited lent the Corporation millions of product to close the gap.

It is our sincere hope that the Corporation will respect our contract with them by paying all outstanding bills as well as deliver cargoes which have duly paid for by us in order to end this situation which we view as a deliberate attempt to stifle & strangulate our business bearing in mind that despite their unfair and unfavourable treatment, we still manage to retain thousands of employees in this critical period of the nation's economy where even banks and multinationals are retrenching.

This act of strangulation has previously been reported by our company to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as the Department of State Services (DSS).

As a responsible Corporate citizen, we look forward to the NNPC not only honoring the payment terms of our contract and the release/delivery of the parcel of cargo duly paid for by us, but also to come to the reconciliation table in good faith for both parties to determine who owes what with a view to chart a way forward.

Signed

Management.